The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-20
TWO VERY OLD WOMEN.
One of the Two Remaining Revolu-
tionary Pensioners.


A dispatch from Canisteo, N. Y, to the
New York World says: An interesting
monument is Mrs. Phoebe Travis, of Travis
creek, an aged lady who smiles cheerfully
from the shadow of her 104 years, and
hopes to see the twentieth century come in
She is contemporaneous with the State of
New York. She saw it in its infancy, when
its cities were unbuilt, it's farms and garden
patches the primeval forest, its railroads
undreamed of, its highways few, its streams
Her life has been an eventful one, and she
remembers it well Mrs Hester Ann
Hayes. her daughter, can supply from per-
sonal observation the missing links for the
past 20 years.
Mrs. Travis was born On Christmas day.
17S3,. in Duchess now Putnam) county,
New York She was married to Amasa
Travis Dec. IA, 1900 In the month of May,
1901, they moved toeRergen county, New
Jersey, residing there about five years. In
1905 they moved to Shesheuuin. Pa. and
remained there about one year. From there
they proceeded to Howard, Steuben county,
n. Y. Her son Charles, now 81 wears of
age, was a babe as they came through
Chimney Narrows," near Corning, n Y,
the river having overfiowed its banks and
covered the road SO the horses feet could
not touch the bottom. For a few seconds
they were in imminent peril; "but," she
saws, 81 held my babes, one in each arm
one year and the other three years old
and my husband reined the horses safe to
land" They proceeded through an almost
unbroken wilderness until they arrived at
Campbeiltown where a small clearing had
been made. They reached Bath, which
contained but very few houses, crossed the
CONNECTION river at Ramona, before there
was any evidence of q village and arrived
at Mr.. Vaughn's, upon the farm now occu-
pied by Mr.. Chamberlain, near
Ramona, thaC being the last
''chopping" until they reached Howard
They occupied place which had been in
the possession of a Mr.. Hovey He had
chopped about three acres and had put up a
log house, which had only one gable-end
boarded up; a floor had been laid except
around the fireplace There was neither
ceiling nor DOORS MIR. Travis had to
return for another load of goods, SO
they put up quilt for a door and
rolled a barrel on the bottom of it
to keep it secure. Here she remained alone
with her babies until the return of her nus
band, with no neighbors within miles of
her. During the night she had the cry of
the panthers for lullaby
The couple remained in this place about
one year, and then removed to Howard
Flats, where they lived from 1906 to 1918.
Mrs. travis was woman OF wonderful
genius and physical energy, and literally
provided for and sustained large family
by her own labor, while her husband was
telling the forest trees and clearing place
for home She cut and made the coat
worn by Seth Rice, the first Supervisor of
the town of Howard Knowing her
superior abilities as a spinner and weaver.
Judge Hornell said to her that if she would
weave a piece of cloth to compete for a
,,,{p axl Il Y
he would make her present She made
the cloth; it took the premium at the fair
and the Judge gave her a two-year-old
heifer
In 1918 she moved into Canisteo and re-
manned there nearly four years. They then
went to Travis Creek, in the southeastern
part of Caniste about ten miles from the
village where Mrs Travis still resides with
her daughter. Mr.. Travis died Sept 49,
1858. She was the mother of twelve chill
dren. Two boys and seven girls grew up to
manhood. She boasts of forty-six grand
children living and six dead, lis great
grandchildren living and eighteen dead, and
twenty-five eat-great-grandchildren liv-
ing and six Matchmaking grand total of
PIG descendants.
Mrs. Travis remembers perfectly the death
of Washington, but she was never his nurse
or his retainer. She travels, like a sensible
old lady, on her own reputation, and it
is no figure of speech to say that she is the
pride of this section of country.
Another dispatch from Washington C.
H., o., says: There is nothing like a good,
fat pension to make an old widower attract
i've to the female mind, and there are few
things equal TO good, fat pension in max
ing the male mind acIiye in racollecting ser
vices that were never performed. When the
government made pensioners of all tho sur
Vlvors of the war of 1912, with
their widows, there was q great
rush of youthful women to the
arms of aged survivors, and the govern
lnent is still paying the expenses for this
burst of marital generosity. Everybody
remembers the case of the fictitious English
vessel which was supposed to have arrived
off the Maine coast, and the large number
of pensioners who were quickly created by
the Governors call for troops, but this
instance is not nearly SO comically interest
ing as that of the widows, who periodically
Joined themselves to the aged when Uncle
San tied pension TO the aged's coat-tails.
A case in point is Mrs. Mary Casey a
widow of the somewhat late John Casey, of
the Revolutionary war. She is now old
enough to be willing to have nothing said
about her age, but she was only 16 when she
took upon herself the name of Casey and
promised to love, honor, obey and spend the
pension of the 7S-year-old veteran of the
When the Revolutionary war broke out
MIR. Casey was living among the mountains
OF Virginia, and was among the first to rush
forth in defense of liberty and independence
After the war was concluded Casey set
tod i'll Kanawha county, Va. He lived as
a planter for many years, and became well
known throughout the neighborhood Mrs.
Casey, whose maiden name was Cox, says
that her husband was about IS years of age
when be came on a trip to jackson county,
~, and that upon this occasion they met for
the first time, and were shortly afterward
married. After the old soldiers death his
widow returned to Ohio, where it became
necessary for her to toll for living. One
OF her sons is in the regular army, and is
said to be handsome, well-built fellow.
Mrs. Mary Casey, of Washington c. H.,
and Mrs. Tilton, of New Hampshire, arc
said to be the only Revolutionary war
widows now living. Mrs. Casey is remark
ably healthy, and may live for many years
to come Mrs. Abigail Tlton, the other
and, it is believed, the only other Revolu-
tonnry wa: widow; receives a pension from